Crimes: minors.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details on the penalties for adults who use minors to commit crimes against other minors, only that it is punishable as a misdemeanor or felony.

Crimes Involving Minors

The bill makes it illegal for adults to use minors to commit crimes against other minors and changes the rules about when minors can be charged with extortion.

What This Bill Does

• Makes it a crime for an adult to recruit, direct, coerce, or use a minor to influence or facilitate illegal or harmful conduct toward another minor, including soliciting physical harm, sexual acts, or images of intimate body parts from another minor.
• Changes the law so that minors who threaten, intimidate, or coerce other minors to cause physical harm, engage in sexual acts, or obtain images of intimate body parts can be charged with extortion.

Who It Names or Affects

• Adults who recruit, direct, coerce, or use a minor to commit illegal acts against another minor
• Minors who threaten, intimidate, or coerce other minors for physical harm, sexual acts, or images of intimate body parts

Terms To Know

Extortion

When someone uses threats to get something they want from another person.

Felony

A serious crime that can lead to a long prison sentence.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not address situations where minors are forced by adults to engage in illegal activities.
• It is unclear how this will affect minors who are victims of threats or coercion.

Official Summary Text

SB 1015, as amended, Strickland.
Crimes: minors.
Existing law makes every person who contacts or communicates with a minor, or attempts to contact or communicate with a minor, as specified, with intent to commit certain offenses, including any lewd or lascivious act, involving the minor, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, as provided.
This bill would make any
person who recruits, directs, coerces, or uses a minor to influence or facilitate illegal or harmful conduct toward another minor, or to harass, groom, or solicit any physical harm, sexual conduct, or images of an intimate body part from another minor, as specified, guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, as provided, in addition to any other applicable penalties.
adult person who recruits, induces, coerces, or persuades a minor to commit an illegal act against another minor, or to solicit physical harm, sexual conduct, or images of an intimate body part, from another minor, or who utilizes a minor as a conduit of communication to facilitate any such acts guilty of a crime punishable either as a misdemeanor or a felony.
By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law defines extortion as the obtaining of property or other consideration from another, with their consent, or the obtaining of an official act of a public officer, induced by a wrongful use of force or fear, or under color of official right. Existing law excludes from this provision a person under 18 years of age who has obtained consideration consisting of sexual conduct or an image of an intimate body part.
This bill would except from that
exclusion cases where the minor has knowingly threatened, intimidated, or coerced another minor to
cause any physical harm, engage in any sexual conduct,
engage in any sexual conduct
or obtain an image of an intimate body part from another minor, including an image of an intimate body part that is produced by artificial
intelligence.
intelligence and depicts the identity of another minor.
By expanding the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school
districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF